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Friday, January 24, 2014

This is comfort food at its best for me! It doesn't get easier than the convenience of the "cream of" soups and cornbread stuffing mix for a quick and delicious meal. This is also a very versatile recipe!You will keep coming back to this chicken casserole over and over again . . . it is so good! I make mine with or without sour cream, but add one more can of my favorite type of "cream of" soup (chicken) if the sour cream is not used.For some variation, add some steamed broccoli and substitute cream of broccoli soup for the listed soup. Another variation for mushroom lovers would be cream of mushroom soup with fresh mushrooms.In my opinion, the cream of celery and cream of chicken makes the best gravy, however, use what you like! We found that using sour cream makes it even creamier. Stove Top Stuffing Mix is what I prefer to use.The prep work for this meal is so easy and a great recipe for a beginning cook who wants great results with little effort or cooking skills. We used shredded precooked chicken, but it would be just as easy to pull out some frozen chicken tenderloins and quickly pan fry them before putting the casserole together.The casserole itself is delicious with awesome creaminess, with or without sour cream. The Captain mentioned that he loved the way the stuffing on the top made an awesome crunchy topping, while some of it blended in with the creamy mixture. Very nice combination!This casserole is perfect for pot luck meals! Try it . . . you'll probably love it!

Ingredients

Cooked chicken, cut up in bite sized pieces

(the equivalent of a whole chicken)

8 oz sour cream or another can of "Cream of" soup

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 can Cream of Celery soup

1 box cornbread stuffing, uncooked

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 stick melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Place chicken in the bottom of the dish (9 x 13). Mix the "cream of" soups and sour cream (if you choose to use the sour cream). Spread over the chicken.

Place the uncooked cornbread stuffing over the soup mixture. Heat in the microwave . . . the broth and melted butter until butter is melted and pour over all of the casserole.

Contributors

I'm a recipe collector and have a filing cabinet full of recipes from scouring magazines, newspapers, trading with friends and my cherished family recipes that were passed on to me by family . . . some I have no idea where they came from. I attempt to list sources when I have them . . . I'm not trying to claim any recipe as mine unless it is . . . I'm a serious foodie . . . not a professional chef!

I will also be posting those recipes that look promising to me since I'm always looking for new recipes to try out.

I'm a third generation sicilian italian-cuban-american who was fascinated with everything that happened in the kitchen as I grew up, next to my nana's side . . . watching every move that she made. She started giving me little jobs to do in the kitchen to keep from stepping on me . . . I learned how to cook at a young age, throwing things together, rarely using measuring utensils. Cooking is a passion which takes lots of tasting and nurturing what you are cooking until it is just right.

Here's the twist to my italian cooking . . . I married a southern gentleman whose mom prepared the best southern comfort food meals . . . and as a young adult, I was right there by her side, learning how to cook southern style. He and I combined the two cooking styles into our own style that never disappointed our guests.

Since my southern gentleman passed away, I got used to cooking for one . . . so there is yet another twist to my cooking . . . cooking a big meal and turning it into totally different meals.

I've since remarried and my new husband (yep, another southern gentleman) has a similar cooking style . . . and we are perfecting the art of making great meals using leftovers :)